Nearly 50 billion yuan ($7.5 billion) has been budgeted for building
highways through 2015 that will extend the existing road system from
36,000 miles (58,000 kilometres) to 43,500 miles (70,000 kilometres),
the Xinhua News Agency said.

That follows other ambitious infrastructure projects aimed at opening
up Tibet, including new airports. A railway to the capital, Lhasa,
opened four years ago and is slated to extend to other parts of the region.

China's government says the projects aim to bring economic
development to the impoverished area and boost its links to the rest
of the country.